If you’ve ever been invited to my house for a meal, or if I’ve ever been invited to your house and brought a dish to pass, you probably already know that I love surprise ingredients…I get really excited and even a little giddy. My mantra usually goes something like this: I made _____ (fill in the blank with any normal sounding dish), but there’s a secret ingredient – guess what it is!
In the past it’s been Chai-Spiced Ricotta Cake (no one guessed that it had ricotta or black pepper!), Parsnip Cake (zucchini was a common guess with this one), Chocolate Chestnut Creams (people kept guessing chocolate and coffee but no one thought of chestnut), and the queen recipe of secret ingredients – Chocolate Sauerkraut Cupcakes (I always tell people to sit down before I tell them what’s in this one, lol!). And now this spread. I took it to a party and people were calling it the “smoky cheese spread” and asking me what kind of smoked cheese I used in it.
Even though it tastes like cheese, this spread is actually vegan! It gets its cheesy, umami flavor from nutritional yeast (and more umami from soy), smokiness from roasted red peppers and smoked paprika, and creaminess from almonds. Aside from just sprinkling it on popcorn, this was my first time using nutritional yeast in a recipe…I can’t wait to do some more experimenting!
Vegan Pimento “Cheese” Spread
Yields about 1 cup
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 a medium roasted red bell pepper (store-bought, or see the bottom of this post for instructions on how to make them at home)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoon soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon mustard powder
1/2 cup blanched almonds
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast (such as Bob’s Red Mill)
1 scallion, green and white parts, thinly sliced, divided
Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium heat; add the onion and cook until softened and starting to brown in places, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more, stirring constantly. Cool completely.
Add the onion/garlic mixture and all remaining ingredients (except the scallion) to a food processor and process until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Transfer to a bowl and stir in 1/2 of the scallion.
Chill, then top with the remaining 1/2 of the scallion and serve with crackers or crudités.
I’m Faith Gorsky, the writer, cook, and photographer behind An Edible Mosaic. My goal is to inspire you to get in the kitchen and try something new! Feel free to 
Rosa says
November 28, 2011 at 6:11 amA great spread!
Cheers,
Rosa
Blond Duck says
November 28, 2011 at 7:56 amWhat does nutritional yeast do?
Faith says
November 28, 2011 at 9:22 pmDuckie, It adds great cheesy flavor! ;)
Lisa says
November 28, 2011 at 12:07 pmThis sounds amazing! I’ve made kale chips with nutritional yeast as the cheesy flavor…and people always think there is actually cheese in it!
Krista says
November 28, 2011 at 1:44 pmThis sounds really interesting, Faith!
Barbara says
November 28, 2011 at 2:01 pmNutritional yeast? That’s a new one on me, Faith, so I Googled it. Appears it is exactly right for something like this dip. Very interesting and while the vegan part of things is not a big part of my life, it sure doesn’t hurt. :)
grace says
November 28, 2011 at 3:53 pmsneaky! i love my pimento cheese, but i’d be willing to try this…in excess. :)
Alyssa (Everyday Maven) says
November 28, 2011 at 4:30 pmThis is fantastic! Can’t wait to try it :)
P.S. Your breakfast pudding was a huge hit – thanks!
Faith says
November 28, 2011 at 9:38 pmAlyssa, That’s great, I’m so glad the pudding was a hit! Thanks for letting me know, you made my night! :)
BeadedTail says
November 28, 2011 at 6:20 pmI haven’t heard of nutritional yeast before so once again I learned something new from you! This looks so good and I love that it’s vegan!
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella says
November 28, 2011 at 6:21 pmHaha I love surprise ingredients too Faith! I remember making a tomato soup cake and really flummoxing my in laws! :P This looks wonderful!
Stevie says
November 28, 2011 at 7:03 pmFaith this cheesey spread sounds quite delish. I have to confess that I’m drawn to and put off by the name. Somehow I have bad memeories of all “pimento cheeses” from childhood that I’m struggling to escape from. Your ingredient list looks quite reasonable and tasty. I have used nutritional yeast many times–mainly as a substitute for parmesan. It does have a umami flavor which is very like aged cheese. This dish looks like it would be fun at a party. Plus the ingredient-guessing-game would add to the pleasure.
Faith says
November 28, 2011 at 9:21 pmStevie, That’s too funny — I absolutely adore regular pimento cheese, which is why I wanted to experiment with a vegan version. But I didn’t have it as a child, only as an adult, so maybe that has something to do with it. :) Love the idea of using nutritional yeast as a parmesan substitute, I will definitely try that!
Monet says
November 28, 2011 at 7:06 pmMy husband just made a vegan queso so he’s going to be excited to try this! He loves coming up with vegan dips. Thank you for sharing such a tempting treat with me. I hope you are having a happy start to your week!
Sarah@studiofood says
November 28, 2011 at 8:06 pmThat looks delicious! I guessed there were cashews in it when I looked at the picture. I was close!
tania@mykitchenstories says
November 29, 2011 at 1:53 amYou know I am not too much into things that are extra healthy, but i wish I lived near you anyway. What a great time we would have
Sharon | Chinese Soup Pot says
November 29, 2011 at 3:03 amThis looks so healthy and delicious! What a wonderfully unique recipe!
Blond Duck says
November 29, 2011 at 7:50 amI didn’t know yeast could taste like cheese.
Heavenly Housewife says
November 29, 2011 at 8:18 amWhat a great party snack for my auntie, who doesn’t eat meat or cheese!
*kisses* HH
p.s. do stop by and enter my giveaway daaahling, there are two opportunities to win!
Nicole, RD says
November 29, 2011 at 9:30 amI teach about the flavor “umami” but I have never seen the bit of knowledge be useful until just now! What a fantastic combination of flavors…and stunning, stunning photos!
5 Star Foodie says
November 29, 2011 at 9:56 amHow great that it is vegan! Though I love cheese and love pimento too very much, i can’t eat too much , so this is just a perfect solution! Thanks for the recipe!
Michelle says
November 29, 2011 at 10:12 amAlways looking for things like this when we plan things at school. Thanks.
Hannah says
November 29, 2011 at 10:24 amNutritional yeast is like catnip to me, so this sounds wonderful! Perfect for upcoming holiday parties… Or just solo “parties” at home. :)
Angie's Recipes says
November 29, 2011 at 12:43 pmThe spread sounds and looks super!
kellie@foodtoglow says
November 29, 2011 at 2:20 pmCreative use of nutritional yeast. I do flatbreads and kale chips with nutritional yeast and this looks like another good way to use this unusual store cupboard ingredient. Actually I love all of the other ingredients too – especially the smoked paprika.
Delishhh says
November 29, 2011 at 3:19 pmWould love for you to come over to dinner :)
Magic of Spice says
November 29, 2011 at 4:09 pmI love surprise ingredients as well…this is such a great dip! I am not familiar with nutritional yeast but will look it up :) Lovely flavors here!
Krista says
November 29, 2011 at 4:31 pmI LOVE that you added sauerkraut to chocolate cupcakes! What a hoot! :-) This dip looks and sounds so delicious, Faith. I adore veggie-based dips so I know I’d love this. :-)
Raina says
November 29, 2011 at 6:26 pmThis sounds wonderful. I would be sitting right by it at a party eating it all night. I am always amazed at how you can take fattening recipes and make them healthy and delicious:)
Betty @ scrambled hen fruit says
November 29, 2011 at 10:39 pmWith holiday parties coming up, it’ll be good to have another vegan option. Sounds even better than the real thing! :)
Carolyn Jung says
November 29, 2011 at 11:29 pmI bet this is fabulous and that even non-vegans would go crazy for it. I know I sure would!
nancy at good food matters says
November 30, 2011 at 11:57 amThe spread looks great, Faith–really cheesy! I have known about nutritional yeast for many years, but have never used it in anything. More people are interested in the vegan diet, so I’m glad to see this tasty recipe.
Evelyne@cheapethniceatz says
December 1, 2011 at 5:14 pmOh you are a trickster aren’t you with this recipe filled with guessing traps lol. i can see how the nutritional yeast would lead people astray. But it looks wonderful and it would be great for a holiday pot-luck.
Veronica Miller says
December 2, 2011 at 1:52 pmOK, now I HAVE to buy some of that yeast! This is just too cool!
kirsten says
December 4, 2011 at 4:00 pmTHis looks amazing! Thanks for sharing.
A Canadian Foodie says
December 6, 2011 at 7:34 pmFaith!
You would be my kind of dinner guest, and I, yours – for sure! I am the same… not so much about getting giddy over hiding ingredients in my food – I would definitely be giddy about anything you brought me… but I get giddy about any opportunity to taste anything new. I just LOVE that!
Nutritional yeast I have never heard of and definitely will do some research on this. Kudos for you for creating such a lovely recipe that is vegan.
:)
V